Prior art of possible relevance includes U.S. Pat. No. 2,819,650 issued Jan. 14, 1958 to S. M. Seron and U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,979,795 and 4,136,934 issued Sept. 14, 1976 and Jan. 30, 1979 respectively to S. V. Seron.
Eyeglass holders of the sort exemplified by the above identified patents have proved to be extremely successful. The holders, in the case of those illustrated in the '650 and '934 patents, are ideally suited for assuring that eyeglasses will not become disassociated from the wearer during the activities of the wearer, even in athletic contest.
Eyeglass holders of the type exemplified by the '795 patent have also proved successful in that wearers of eyeglasses using such holders may remove the eyeglasses and allow them to hang from their neck by the strap employed.
In the case of the former type of eyeglass holder, an elastic strap is employed while in the case of the latter, generally, a decorative flexible, but non-elastic strap will be utilized.
In the case of each type, there is provided a temple receiving fixture, typically formed of an elastomer, and provided with an elongated slot. The effective length of the slot can be varied through the use of a metal slider so that the slot can be firmly and resiliently closed about the temple of an eyeglass passed therethrough. In the case of each, it is necessary to provide some means as a snap connector or a ferrule for securing the temple receiving fixture to the flexible strap or chain. The presence of this component adds some expense to the manufacturing cost of the eyeglass holder simply in terms of the cost of the part. It also tends to add to the manufacturing cost in terms of the increased labor that is required to assemble the ferrule or the snap fastener to the fixture and to the strap over the labor costs that would be present if such a ferrule or snap fastener was not required.
Thus, while eyeglass holders of the type mentioned worked extremely well for their intended purpose and have been quite successful over the years, it is desirable to reduce the cost of manufacture thereof.